 The total civilian population at the time was around 6,000.In January 1920, the town was surrounded by a partisan force nearly 4,000 strong under the command of Yakov Tryapitsyn, who was allied with the Bolshevik Red Army.On February 24, 1920, realizing that he was outnumbered and far from reinforcement, the commander of the Japanese garrison allowed Tryapitsyn's troops to enter the town under a flag of truce.